Investor · Bloomington, IL · Member since 2017 · 26 posts · 4 votes
My sister lives in League City, Texas. My wife and I are looking at buying a rental or vacation rental that we can rent out till we retire and will spend time down there with them in the winter. Are there any vacation rental friendly places in the area, and also decent management companies?
@Brian Cremer - League City has great need for long-term rental properties. Older neighborhoods (late 70s, early 80s) like Countryside, the Landing, and Newport seem to have a better cash flow than newer neighborhoods there. The communities built in the 90's like Rustic Oaks, parts of South Shore Harbour are going to be similar. For short-term opportunities, Kemah is just down the road and definitely more of a tourist destination. Galveston is a no-brainer if you want to be on the gulf. People I've talked to do very well with AirBnB-type rentals there. The closer to the beach, the better. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any specific questions or need any assistance. Always happy to help!
@Leigh Ann Smith - my family loves your tree farm! I really like the fact that you added the tiny houses and would love to discuss with you some time.
I would initially recommend looking at tools like airdna.co (not .com). They capture data from Airbnb and provide it to investors like yourself. You could also go to sites like airbnb and VRBO to view rental rates in the area. Once you have identified if this makes sense, then pursue finding a management company if you do not want to manage it yourself.
Hi @Brian Cremer, I live not far from League City (about 20 miles) and we have 2 tiny houses that we self-manage as vacation rentals. The nightly rates out here are pretty low. In addition to using Mike's suggestion of Airdna, I'd suggest going onto AirBnB and VRBO and see what's available to rent in that area, and what they're getting per night.
Most of League City is in a flood zone, so be sure to factor flood insurance into your expense numbers if you're looking at a place that falls into one of those zones. Like most markets, the Houston area market is flooded with investors, and it's rare that you'll make an offer without having a good bit of competition. Maybe your sister can keep her ears open for people she knows who are planning to move soon, and you could get an inside track on a property.
You might want to look for something around Kemah. It's very close to League City and is a popular tourist attraction. Robin Williams might have some good advice as well, he's a big League City guy!
@Leigh Ann Smith has good experienced advice. I think it's not only the rate you are looking at but also the % of occupancy. Leigh, what % of the months are your properties occupied, and what seasons suffer (if any).
@Brian Cremer - League City has great need for long-term rental properties. Older neighborhoods (late 70s, early 80s) like Countryside, the Landing, and Newport seem to have a better cash flow than newer neighborhoods there. The communities built in the 90's like Rustic Oaks, parts of South Shore Harbour are going to be similar. For short-term opportunities, Kemah is just down the road and definitely more of a tourist destination. Galveston is a no-brainer if you want to be on the gulf. People I've talked to do very well with AirBnB-type rentals there. The closer to the beach, the better. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any specific questions or need any assistance. Always happy to help!
@Leigh Ann Smith - my family loves your tree farm! I really like the fact that you added the tiny houses and would love to discuss with you some time.
@Account Closed, combined, our 2 houses have been booked for about 215 nights this year. One of those was a 65 day rental (from VRBO) and one was a 6-week rental. Both were traveling nurses. I need to find out how to market to them! So, that's about 50%, but those long term ones do really skew the numbers.
Summer is slower, as is January-February. March was crazy busy. We tend to be busy in November-December because we're a Christmas tree farm, but I wouldn't think most rentals would be busy then.
@Leigh Ann Smith - in general, not a problem as long as you acquire the property for a good price. The rental market is very much in demand allowing for great rental rates. Flood insurance costs vary depending on how close you are to the lake or bay - waterfront obviously being really high. However, in the west end of League City there was no flooding during Ike except for those communities right on top of Clear Creek. I do recommend talking to an insurance pro about whatever specific property you may be considering.